Arlington’s Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, which will complete the area’s first dedicated transit lanes, is now expected to be completed in spring 2016, according to county officials.
“We had complications during construction that caused delays and threatened to push the project over budget,” Acting County Manager Mark Schwartz said in a project update to the County Board. “But we have made changes, including scope modifications, that will ensure we finish this project within budget and get it done by next spring.”
Arlington began building the Crystal City Potomac Yard Transitway, a joint project with the City of Alexandria, in summer 2014. The county’s portion of the project includes 0.75 miles of new transit-only roadway, 1.5 miles of on-street dedicated transit lanes, seven new stations and traffic signal upgrades along the Transitway route. Alexandria’s portion of the project, running from Potomac Yard to Braddock Road, opened in August 2014.
In an update on the project to the County Board made during the Tuesday, Dec. 15 Recessed County Board Meeting, staff explained that crews encountered a number of issues as they dug into the ground along the Arlington route, including unmarked utilities, poor soils and obstructions such as abandoned railroad structures, which slowed roadway and station work. The project team also was unable to find a supplier for the size and type of roof panel needed for the Transitway station design.